The Ghana Scholarship Authority has rejected allegations surrounding the award of scholarships to minors and Ghanaian twins based in Canada, insisting that the beneficiaries met the eligibility requirements and that the awards were made in accordance with the Authority’s established scholarship framework.
The response follows public criticism and media reports questioning the legality of certain scholarship awards, including claims that scholarships were improperly granted to individuals who were allegedly Canadian citizens and that scholarships are intended exclusively for “needy but brilliant” students.
In a statement shared publicly, the Acting Registrar of the Ghana Scholarship Authority, Alex Kwaku Asafo-Agyei, described the allegations as misleading and said it was necessary to place the facts on record.
According to him, the claim that the beneficiaries in question were Canadian citizens is false.
“The individuals being referenced are Ghanaians by birth and parentage. The fundamental eligibility requirement for scholarships administered by the Ghana Scholarship Authority is Ghanaian citizenship. That requirement has been satisfied in this case,” he stated.
He said attempts to portray the beneficiaries as “Canadians benefiting from Ghanaian scholarships” were unsupported by the facts.
Three-tier scholarship framework
Mr. Asafo-Agyei also challenged the assertion that scholarships administered by the Authority are reserved solely for financially disadvantaged but academically brilliant students.
He explained that the Ghana Scholarship Authority operates a three-tier framework for scholarship awards.
The categories include:
• Financial Need (Needy but Brilliant);
• National Priority, for programmes considered critical to Ghana’s development and requiring specialised expertise; and
• Merit-Based Selection, which is open to qualified Ghanaian students who meet standardised academic criteria regardless of their economic background.
He argued that it is inaccurate to suggest that beneficiaries who do not fall within the “needy but brilliant” category are undeserving.
2026 scholarship allocations
To illustrate the structure of the programme, the Acting Registrar referred to the Authority’s publicly announced local scholarship allocations.
He said that for the 2026 scholarship cycle, 5,000 local scholarships have been earmarked, with 2,000 specifically reserved for the “needy but brilliant” category.
According to him, that category is administered through an independent selection committee to ensure transparency and fairness.
The Authority maintained that scholarship awards are guided by clearly defined policy categories rather than a single eligibility criterion.
The clarification comes amid ongoing public debate over scholarship administration and allegations relating to scholarship awards approved under the previous administration.
While questions continue to be raised about specific awards, the Scholarship Authority insists that the awards to the Ghanaian beneficiaries in question were made within its established policy framework and that the beneficiaries satisfied the applicable eligibility requirements.
